Changes to Asia sailings.

[upwarduk]

Changes. to Constellation and Millennium sailings.

From the Celebrity web site.

Millenium will be returning to the West coast of the USA early.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 12, 2020 by upwarduk

[jojo1966]

Yes just seen they've cancelled the rest of the season for millenium  upto 15th may....very disappointing for those booked. Praying its all sorted by November when we are booked ....

Edited February 12, 2020 by jojo1966

[Muffinz]

We are booked on Millennium in March 2021 Hong Kong to Tokyo and we are seriously considering cancelling with our TA and getting the deposit back

Tonga and Samoa have also 'closed' their ports to cruise ships and we're due to go there on our Solstice cruise 1 April - and we're more than a little worried (but still optimistic)

[WestLakeGirl]

That Is over a year from now, isn’t it? 
 

You have to do what you are comfortable with of course, but it’s awfully early to know what the world situation is going to be like a year from now

[DrivesLikeMario]

And the 3/17 Constellation cruise will now embark in Dubai instead of Singapore.

[cruisestitch]

Upwarduk, is there any info on Millie from the west coast you alluded to?

[jimzgoldfinch]

This is link https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/pdf/ML-remaining-2020-season-sailing-cancellation-guest-letter (2-12-20).pdf

[bebe08]

I was booked on Apr 10 Millie.  Below is letter I received a few hours ago.  While I was expecting this might happen, I was hoping for an alternative itinerary rather than outright cancellation.  I am surprised we are not being told what the Millie itinerary will be.  I doubt they will be no sailings until the Alaska season starts in mid-May.  

 

About your upcoming travels   Dear Guest,   We have some urgent information to provide regarding your upcoming Asia cruise aboard Celebrity Millennium®.   As we monitor global developments related to the coronavirus, our priority remains the health and safety of our guests and crew, as well as providing amazing vacation experiences. Each morning our executive team reviews daily updates from the CDC and WHO regarding the situation. After further consultation with public health authorities and medical experts, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the remainder of Millennium’s season in Asia, including the voyages of 3/14/20; 3/28/20; 4/10/20; 4/21/20; 5/10/20.  Celebrity Millennium will now reposition to the West Coast of the United States earlier than originally planned.   Up until today we did not intend to cancel the remaining season, however, due to continuous and unpredictable changes in travel restrictions and port closures, we feel this is the best decision for the health and safety of all.  This decision was not made lightly as we value your vacation time and want to ensure you have the best experience possible on a Celebrity Cruise.  The Asia market remains of great importance to us and we look forward to returning there very soon.   In order to compensate you for this cancellation, all booked guests will receive a full refund to their original method of payment and a 25% Future Cruise Credit (FCC).  If you pre-booked any shore excursions through Celebrity Cruises, you’ll receive a full refund to the original form of payment.  Guests with independent arrangements should contact their tour operators as soon as possible.  If you pre-purchased any beverage, internet, specialty dining or other onboard packages, you will also receive a full refund to your original form of payment.   Guests with air travel and hotel booked through Flights by Celebrity will be refunded automatically. Guests with independent air arrangements need to contact their air carriers directly to make all required cancellations. For any airline flight change fees incurred, you may receive up to $300 per person reimbursement.  In order to receive reimbursement, you must send us a copy of the air change fees assessed.  Please email to, celebrityengagementcenter@celebrity.com   We know how important your vacation time is and we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience of this cancellation.  Your safety and well-being are our highest priority.  We hope to welcome you aboard soon for an amazing Celebrity Cruise vacation.   Sincerely, Celebrity Cruises

[slewis7]

I was also booked for the April 10 cruise.  I am extremely disappointed it is cancelled, but I think Celebrity handled this situation for our cruise in a reasonable manner (not a comment on how earlier Millennium cruises have been handled).  I look forward to cruising with Celebrity in the future.

[Northern Aurora]

I also think that Celebrity handled this situation in the best possible manner given the very fluid situation.  Due to a full ship charter we had a cruise canceled about a year before it was scheduled to sail.  Even though no one could have purchased air fare it was disappointing for a number of folks on the roll call.  Must be extremely disappointing for those impacted on this series of Millennium cruises, but given what has happened to the HAL Westerdam as they have searched for ports and the quarantine of the Diamond Princess this decision had to be made.

[BEAV]

If the balance of Asia sailings were just cancelled today (according to the letter), it will no doubt take a few days (or a week?) to schedule and announce newly created itineraries to operate between now and May 22 when the Alaska season begins. 

 

Anyone interested in cruising the West Coast on short notice should be on the lookout. I recall booking a terrific deal on RCCL Mariner of the Seas in 2009 when the Swine Flu epidemic abruptly pulled the ship out of Mexico on very short notice. 

 

 

 

 

[BEAV]

30 minutes ago, BEAV said:

If the balance of Asia sailings were just cancelled today (according to the letter), it will no doubt take a few days (or a week?) to schedule and announce newly created itineraries to operate between now and May 22 when the Alaska season begins. 

 

Anyone interested in cruising the West Coast on short notice should be on the lookout. I recall booking a terrific deal on RCCL Mariner of the Seas in 2009 when the Swine Flu epidemic abruptly pulled the ship out of Mexico on very short notice. 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrity is obviously fast at work coming up with newly-created itineraries. The Port of San Francisco website was updated yesterday (Feb 11) to show Millennium will call on March 27/28 and April 4. 

 

https://sfport.com/sites/default/files/Cruises/Docs/2020.pdf

 

[cruiserchuck]

3 minutes ago, BEAV said:

 

Celebrity is obviously fast at work coming up with newly-created itineraries. The Port of San Francisco website was updated yesterday (Feb 11) to show Millennium will call on March 27/28 and April 4. 

 

https://sfport.com/sites/default/files/Cruises/Docs/2020.pdf

 

 

So this is a pretty good indication that Celebrity knew before today that they were going to cancel the Asia cruises.  In the letter they issued today, they made it seem like the decision was not made until today.

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

So this is a pretty good indication that Celebrity knew before today that they were going to cancel the Asia cruises.  In the letter they issued today, they made it seem like the decision was not made until today.

Not a very busy time of year so not difficult to get a dock in SF in March or April.

[A.Emgee]

From that San Francisco Port document it looks like Millennium will be coming from Los Angeles and heading to Astoria, OR after the overnight San Francisco.  

 

Celebrity Eclipse has a very similar looking 7-day itinerary from San Diego to Vancouver on March 30 with a stop in Seattle, so i wonder if Millennium would be doing something like that?

 

It should also be noted that the Hawaii Ports website shows that Millennium will be in Honolulu on March 1 at 6:00am and depart on March 2 at 9:00pm, and Lahaina on March 3 from 6:00am to 6:00pm.

Edited February 13, 2020 by A.Emgee

[A.Emgee]

Also, for April 4 it looks like she will be coming from Victoria and heading to Seattle afterwards.  

 

And on March 23 she will be in Santa Barbara from 8:00am-7:00pm.

 

So according to my guessing, the pieces of the puzzle might be:

March 1: Honolulu

March 2: Honolulu

March 3: Lahaina

March 23: Santa Barbara

March 26: Los Angeles

March 27: San Francisco

March 28: San Francisco

March 29: At Sea

March 30: Astoria

April 1: Victoria

April 2: At Sea

April 3: At Sea

April 4: San Francisco

April 5: At Sea

April 6: At Sea?

April 7: Seattle?

Edited February 13, 2020 by A.Emgee

[MamaFej]

I'd love to be able to take advantage of West Coast cruises. My LA Dodgers will be in San Francisco on April 4, and it would be fun to go see them while on a cruise.

 

My heart breaks for those whose cruises were canceled, but I understand why it's necessary. 

[mayleeman]

3 hours ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

So this is a pretty good indication that Celebrity knew before today that they were going to cancel the Asia cruises.  In the letter they issued today, they made it seem like the decision was not made until today.

Korea cancelled the next few Feb cruises yesterday, and said they would cancel future cruises as necessary, calling the March/April ones into question. I suspect X has been anticipating such a move, worked on contingency plans, and decided, likely today or yesterday, to remove the uncertainty. Advancing the West Coast schedule, and coordinating with existing contractors, likely would have been a lot easier than scrambling to go to previously unplanned ports as in Asia.

 

Many have been criticizing cruise lines for not being prepared to cancel and replace! This was very smooth comparatively. 

Edited February 13, 2020 by mayleeman

[BEAV]

1 hour ago, A.Emgee said:

Also, for April 4 it looks like she will be coming from Victoria and heading to Seattle afterwards.  

 

And on March 23 she will be in Santa Barbara from 8:00am-7:00pm.

 

So according to my guessing, the pieces of the puzzle might be:

March 1: Honolulu

March 2: Honolulu

March 3: Lahaina

March 23: Santa Barbara

March 26: Los Angeles

March 27: San Francisco

March 28: San Francisco

March 29: At Sea

March 30: Astoria

April 1: Victoria

April 2: At Sea

April 3: At Sea

April 4: San Francisco

April 5: At Sea

April 6: At Sea?

April 7: Seattle?

 

Assuming Celebrity deadheads Millie to Honolulu and begins revenue service there on March 1, I would look for some barn burner pricing in an effort to fill a newly-created itinerary leaving in just 18 days from now.

 

It will be interesting to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle. 

 

And I wonder if Millie will now begin her Alaska season earlier than May 22, the day she was previously scheduled to arrive from Tokyo. 

 

 

[Bruin Steve]

Several years ago, when they had the SARS epidemic in Asia, they rerouted ships to the West Coast...and they panicked a bit.  Recognizing that they had little lead time to fill up what were now empty cruises, they offered some incredible deals.  I was able to jump on a newly announced cruise out of San Diego for about half the price I would have normally paid.  The cruise filled up quickly tough...and as they got close to the actual cruise date, the prices climbed steeply and pricing became more normal.  The ship eventually sailed full.

 

Same epidemic, Crystal did the same and actually was offering 7-night cruises starting at $795 pp--unheard of for them.  We would have done that one just to try it, but the dates just didn't quite work out for our schedule...missed opportunity!

Edited February 13, 2020 by Bruin Steve

[TeeRick]

12 hours ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

So this is a pretty good indication that Celebrity knew before today that they were going to cancel the Asia cruises.  In the letter they issued today, they made it seem like the decision was not made until today.

So what? Don't you think that Celebrity has been contingency planning for the past several weeks and has waited to see how this rapidly evolving situation has played out before making the decision to cancel?  

[BEAV]

9 hours ago, BEAV said:

 

Assuming Celebrity deadheads Millie to Honolulu and begins revenue service there on March 1, I would look for some barn burner pricing in an effort to fill a newly-created itinerary leaving in just 18 days from now.

 

 

I forgot to mention if Millie is going to originate in Honolulu on March 1, she would have to terminate that sailing in Vancouver. She could not terminate in San Diego, LA, SF or Seattle due to the PVSA (Passenger Vessel Service Act). She could also legally terminate in Ensenada, however the cruise lines have steered away from that nightmare in recent years. 

 

1 hour ago, Bruin Steve said:

Several years ago, when they had the SARS epidemic in Asia, they rerouted ships to the West Coast...and they panicked a bit.  Recognizing that they had little lead time to fill up what were now empty cruises, they offered some incredible deals.  I was able to jump on a newly announced cruise out of San Diego for about half the price I would have normally paid.  The cruise filled up quickly tough...and as they got close to the actual cruise date, the prices climbed steeply and pricing became more normal.  The ship eventually sailed full.

 

Same epidemic, Crystal did the same and actually was offering 7-night cruises starting at $795 pp--unheard of for them.  We would have done that one just to try it, but the dates just didn't quite work out for our schedule...missed opportunity!

 

2003 and Crystal Harmony. I remember it well and we, too, couldn't take advantage of it for the same reasons as you. Heck of a deal. 

Edited February 13, 2020 by BEAV

[barbette165]

If revenue earning service were to begin on March 1st, the the Millennium would probably need to leave Singapore within the next 48 hours. I wouldn't be surprised if the US authorities required a fourteen day period between the ship leaving Asia and docking in US territories - despite there being no evidence of current infection on the ship.

[cruisestitch]

A.emgee’s speculative itinerary violates PVSA and would not work

[yorky]

17 hours ago, Muffinz said:

We are booked on Millennium in March 2021 Hong Kong to Tokyo and we are seriously considering cancelling with our TA and getting the deposit back

Tonga and Samoa have also 'closed' their ports to cruise ships and we're due to go there on our Solstice cruise 1 April - and we're more than a little worried (but still optimistic)

Way too early to be considering cancelling, for cruise in February and expect it to be over well before that. While no two outbreaks are the same the SARS  outbreak lasted around 6 months. I think it’s highly unlikely this virus will still be a huge issue 13 months down the line.

Edited February 13, 2020 by yorky